Florida appeared to come out of the gates swinging, with quarterback Chris Leak throwing a 70-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kelvin Kight to take an early 7-0 lead.
2004 | 2004 in music | 2004 Summer Olympics | Super Bowl | Orange Bowl | United States presidential election, 2004 | Rose Bowl Game | Rose Bowl | Canadian federal election, 2004 | Pro Bowl | Orange Bowl (game) | Sugar Bowl | 2004 in film | Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) | 2004 in baseball | 2004 ATP Tour | Bowl Championship Series | Hollywood Bowl | 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships | United States Senate elections, 2004 | Fiesta Bowl | United States House of Representatives elections, 2004 | 2004 in television | Outback | Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy | Super Bowl XLVIII | Super Bowl XLII | Eurovision Song Contest 2004 | Australian federal election, 2004 | 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami |
They were led by second-year coach Ron Zook, who coached the Gators to a first-place tie in the SEC East, an Outback Bowl berth, and an overall win-loss record of 8–5 (.615).